Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[factory]

Here is another counter on ePay in the US that's been on my watch list for a while, it's a Beckman 6145 with a similar looking plug-in set-up (but not compatible) to the HP 5245 series.


I did get a offer of $40 after a while, but I think it's just too much with the international shipping, high risk of shipping damage and the lack of service info.
eBay auction: #254722028997

The plug-ins are also used in another Beckman counter with number readout bulbs, it's longer than a HP 5245 series, but has no fan, the 6145 on ePay does have a fan though.
http://crasno.ca/articles/Beckman6148A.htm

David

[BU508A]

1N4007 can do a I_F of 1A
1N5408 can do a I_F of 3A

That's why I'd prefer the 1N5408 anytime over a 1N4007, even if the rectifier is a B380C1500 (380V 1500mA)

Just my 2 Cents.

[bd139]

Re: bodging 4 diodes in: I could have done this and do indeed have suitable diodes (1n400x are not suitable!) BUT I'm not inclined to do something like that for three reasons:

1. I am quite frankly thoroughly fed up of electronics for the day now.
2. It's not the proper way of doing it.
3. I'd probably dream about it not being the proper way to do it for months

I'm spending the evening on discord now, probably whining, and rewriting fluentd in Go

Edit: some project progress today. "scope screensaver" version 2... vertical, horizontal timebases done. Just need to get the quadrature oscillator working.



And oh yes those are all LM741's. Trying to use 'em all up because I've got a bazillion of them still. Then I can move on to the 100 or so LM358's and then I can justify moving onto the LMC6482's.

[factory]

snip...

am almost certain that my fortress of solitude contains more nixie counters than anyone else on this thread (with one possible exception).

I'm going to have to figure out how many I have here, I won't be listing the model numbers as I don't want to help the display thieves find new victims.
I've acquired saved three in the last 60 days according to ePay.

David

[Specmaster]

Re: bodging 4 diodes in: I could have done this and do indeed have suitable diodes (1n400x are not suitable!) BUT I'm not inclined to do something like that for three reasons:

1. I am quite frankly thoroughly fed up of electronics for the day now.
2. It's not the proper way of doing it.
3. I'd probably dream about it not being the proper way to do it for months

I'm spending the evening on discord now, probably whining, and rewriting fluentd in Go

The point is to just test the water, if it solves the issue, go ahead and order the correct part and fit, if it doesnt, reinstall the old unit. It was not intended to be a permanent fitment, but a quick and dirty test, thats it.

[mnementh]

1N4007 can do a I_F of 1A
1N5408 can do a I_F of 3A

That's why I'd prefer the 1N5408 anytime over a 1N4007, even if the rectifier is a B380C1500 (380V 1500mA)

Just my 2 Cents.

Yes, but the 1N4007 leads will pretty much for sure fit in the holes where the 1N5408s are fatter. And we both know that 1N4007s are rated for 1A continuous, but 30A surge. I've run them at 2A for hours in many bodges and nary a skipped cycle.

I have both in my parts bin. I'd use the ones that fit the holes for testing, as not sure there's even 1-1.5A draw in this application until I build the bridge and test it. Not sure the W10 bridge will fit without modding, either... IIRC, they have pretty fat leads.

mnem
 

[tggzzz]

Ah yeah we get that here. I don’t go out walking and stuff until it’s fucking miserable weather and cold because they’ve all gone then 

I either walk out my front door, and am in deer infested woods within 10mins, or I hop on my bike and within 10mins I can go to a local "closed" beauty spot.

That's been closed until 2022 because so many numpties discovered it during the hot part of lockdown, and decided to have a swim in the lake built for fish. By "closed" I mean the carpark has been closed and the single-lane roads have parking cones on them.

You've got a couple of deer-infested parks or Wombledon Common nearby, or there are the lovely Surrey hills (which are also deer-infested)

[mnementh]

On a totally different tack, yesterday I and the missus took a trek to the, recently opened, Home Bargains in Beckton in search of some cheap wiper blades as pointed out by Spec.

Failed in that respect, they didn't have any in that branch. What Spec didn't warn us, and this may just be the Beckton branch, is that Home Bargains is Chav Central. Well no, that's unfair, the clientele were the kind that Chavs get snobby about. I don't think that I've even been anywhere else before where I felt that we stuck out as being 'posh'. I almost feared us being singled out for punishment for our perceived poshness by the lumpy proletariat.  I'd swear that I saw three generations of the 'Fat Slags' from Viz all shopping together.

(People should have realised by now that 'posh' I ain't. I feel a swell of pride every time I pass a village common, that it's been named after me and my forebears.)

I have no room to talk whatsoever, as I sit here watching the kids and mending several of my favorite pairs of "give up on life pants" so I'm not flashing the neighbors when I  check the mail.

That said... those pants still do not get worn outside the house unless I'm doing yardwork; even if I'm just nipping down to the Dollarama (the GWN equivalent of your Home Bargains store) for some batteries for my 189, I still bother to put civilized clothes on.

mnem
 

[Specmaster]

I may be on discord a little later, I'm still working on the PL310 and just reassembling it to do a test and carry out some measurements,

[BU508A]

1N4007 can do a I_F of 1A
1N5408 can do a I_F of 3A

That's why I'd prefer the 1N5408 anytime over a 1N4007, even if the rectifier is a B380C1500 (380V 1500mA)

Just my 2 Cents.

Yes, but the 1N4007 leads will pretty much for sure fit in the holes where the 1N5408s are fatter. And we both know that 1N4007s are rated for 1A continuous, but 30A surge. I've run them at 2A for hours in many bodges and nary a skipped cycle.

I have both in my parts bin. I'd use the ones that fit the holes for testing, as not sure there's even 1.5A draw. Not sure the W10 bridge will fit without modding, either... IIRC, they have pretty fat leads.

mnem
 

Yes, the leads are thicker, but sometimes one has some luck and they fit.   
And the 1500mA  of the B380C1500 are continious current, too. Therefore a 1N4007 is not a suitable replacement imho.   

[bd139]

Ah yeah we get that here. I don’t go out walking and stuff until it’s fucking miserable weather and cold because they’ve all gone then 

I either walk out my front door, and am in deer infested woods within 10mins, or I hop on my bike and within 10mins I can go to a local "closed" beauty spot.

That's been closed until 2022 because so many numpties discovered it during the hot part of lockdown, and decided to have a swim in the lake built for fish. By "closed" I mean the carpark has been closed and the single-lane roads have parking cones on them.

You've got a couple of deer-infested parks or Wombledon Common nearby, or there are the lovely Surrey hills (which are also deer-infested)

Yes it's pretty nice around here. Another motivation to stay put. I live to run up to the top of Richmond Hill and chill for a bit and stare at eBay and the scenery 

[mnementh]

I'm trying to gather up the ambition to put mower in hand and get some much-needed exercise mowing the front lawn. Seems a much more constructive activity than another afternoon trying to unscrew the inscrutable faults in my 3DPrinter... and probably less pain (even in my current state) than the constant kicking in the balls being rendered by that demonic device.

Yes, the leads are thicker, but sometimes one has some luck and they fit.   
And the 1500mA  of the B380C1500 are continuous current, too. Therefore a 1N4007 is not a suitable replacement imho.   

Again... you're talking replacement vs temporary bodge. I say use what fits; don't molest the DUT just for testing.

mnem
 

[BU508A]

Yes, the leads are thicker, but sometimes one has some luck and they fit.   
And the 1500mA  of the B380C1500 are continuous current, too. Therefore a 1N4007 is not a suitable replacement imho.   

Again... you're talking replacement vs temporary bodge. I say use what fits; don't molest the DUT just for testing.

mnem
 

Yes, I think we are having here a different approach. Even for testing I'd use 1N5408 and not 1N4007 in this case,
even though if I'm having 1N4007 and they would fit into the holes. I saw nasty things because the rectifier diodes were overloaded and just to be 100% on the safe side, I'm pulling here a German and use the ones which can do the job for sure. 

[mnementh]

Or you could use a ammeter and find out how much you really NEED.

mnem

[bd139]

With an analogue dial 

[Specmaster]

On a totally different tack, yesterday I and the missus took a trek to the, recently opened, Home Bargains in Beckton in search of some cheap wiper blades as pointed out by Spec.

Failed in that respect, they didn't have any in that branch. What Spec didn't warn us, and this may just be the Beckton branch, is that Home Bargains is Chav Central. Well no, that's unfair, the clientele were the kind that Chavs get snobby about. I don't think that I've even been anywhere else before where I felt that we stuck out as being 'posh'. I almost feared us being singled out for punishment for our perceived poshness by the lumpy proletariat.  I'd swear that I saw three generations of the 'Fat Slags' from Viz all shopping together.

(People should have realised by now that 'posh' I ain't. I feel a swell of pride every time I pass a village common, that it's been named after me and my forebears.)

Haha that made me chuckle. You know what, when I go out shopping I don't really notice the other shoppers and judge whether they are chavs, or whatever and as for me, well if people think I'm posh, chav, trailer park trash or whatever, I really couldn't care less. People will always form their own opinions and there is nothing I can do about it so why bother to worry about it. I just enjoy the savings to be had, get my shopping done and skedaddle back to my house where I can go in the front door, close it behind me and shut the world out and feel smug with my savings I made.

Not sure why you failed in your attempt to get any, they don't have a dedicated car section, they are in the section where they sell tools, and DIY bits such as screws, brackets etc.

You have a few others located pretty close to you https://storelocator.homebargains.co.uk/lookup?geo=0&search-home-bargains=london and the website also has phone numbers for the stores so you could always spend a few minutes on the phone checking for stock availability and hopefully getting you requirements reserved for you before setting off?

Be warned though, that you do need to do your homework beforehand as the blades not state which cars they will fit, they come with 5 different plastic adaptors and are measured in inches, so you need to measure the ones you have fitted to your car. In my case the drivers was 24" and the passenger side was 18" and I'm so pleased with them that I have got myself a spare set, and they are sitting in their sealed plastic cases on my shelf because I seriously doubt that next time I need some, they will be as cheap as they are now.

[BU508A]

That is always Plan B.   

[Robert763]

Re: bodging 4 diodes in: I could have done this and do indeed have suitable diodes (1n400x are not suitable!) BUT I'm not inclined to do something like that for three reasons:

1. I am quite frankly thoroughly fed up of electronics for the day now.
2. It's not the proper way of doing it.
3. I'd probably dream about it not being the proper way to do it for months

I'm spending the evening on discord now, probably whining, and rewriting fluentd in Go
<SNIP>

Hmm, 4 times 1N4006/7 are a suitable replacement for a B380C1500. Yes the bridge is rated a 1.5 A and a 1N4007 is only 1 A BUT both are average ratings and each of the diodes in a bridge are only conducting 50% of the time so the average through each diode in a 1.5 A bridge is 0.75 A.  4x 1N4007 gives a 1000 V 2 A bridge.

[Specmaster]

Yes, the leads are thicker, but sometimes one has some luck and they fit.   
And the 1500mA  of the B380C1500 are continuous current, too. Therefore a 1N4007 is not a suitable replacement imho.   

Again... you're talking replacement vs temporary bodge. I say use what fits; don't molest the DUT just for testing.

mnem
 

Yes, I think we are having here a different approach. Even for testing I'd use 1N5408 and not 1N4007 in this case,
even though if I'm having 1N4007 and they would fit into the holes. I saw nasty things because the rectifier diodes were overloaded and just to be 100% on the safe side, I'm pulling here a German and use the ones which can do the job for sure. 

I think IN4007's will be just fine, we are not talking of having them fitted for long, just long enough to show if the problem was the bridge or not and being as the diodes will in free air, are free to dissipate the heat far easier than those embedded in the bridge rectifier can and may well account for the higher rating of the bridge in order to keep the heat down.

[Robert763]

<SNIP>
[/quote]

Yes, the leads are thicker, but sometimes one has some luck and they fit.   
And the 1500mA  of the B380C1500 are continious current, too. Therefore a 1N4007 is not a suitable replacement imho.   
[/quote]

Nope, rating is average current
https://www.mouser.co.uk/datasheet/2/427/b40c1500g-1768178.pdf

4x 1N4005/6/7 Will work in place of a b40c1500g with a 30% extra margin on current.

[factory]

Drool. But I'm good. 

The 20MHz ancestor to that 5248L just arrived here yesterday  , cost me way too much, but they were already extinct over here in the UK (no thanks to that timepiece butcherer from Stafford). 

David

Here is the early HP 5243L counter that arrived on Friday from the US, the seller did an excellent job of packing it for international shipping (I didn't have to ask either)  .

The 20MHz 5243L was first available in the 1962 catalog and also in the 1963 & 63/64 short form catalogs, before being replaced by the 50MHz 5245L after mid 1963.

It has option H16 which adds the time base multiplier switch, to give a 100 second gate time when set to X10 (with the time base switch set to 10s).


Option H18 gives both a 100 second & 1000 second gate time for the HP 5245 series according to a service manual I acquired with another counter some time ago.
Note: both options H16 & H18 only add the multiplier switch & extra divider circuits, neither change the decimal point, you have to multiply the readout by 10 or 100.

The 5243L is mostly working  , the HP 209A oscillator I repaired earlier this year was used for testing, just a few issues with the display circuits that need repair, the LSD isn't working well and a 6 is absent from another display circuit.


The serial prefix/number is 328-01183 & there is no sticker indicating if the later plug-ins can be used, but I do have the service note for the modification, plus the 5245L spares unit (with all the plug-in circuit boards missing) that I got from a member of the UK vintage radio forum with that big pile of test gear in August, that must have the wiring needed for the mod.


Will break the very old cal seals & have a look inside another day.

David

[0culus]

Man, all that nixie awesomeness. Nice. 

[bd139]

I'm glad that 209A went into good hands. I nearly had it myself 

[factory]

I'm glad that 209A went into good hands. I nearly had it myself 

Are you sure the 209A* is the same one? I bought it back in April from a Dutch seller, there has been several more on eBay since, I keep thinking about buying another or a 204B or 208A (but those come with high risk of Ni-Cad damage).

*It met my requirements of early, broken and still had the serial number label attached.

David

[bd139]

Ah ok might have been a different one then!